In order to wrap-up the previous five modules on the teaching of writing in alternative settings, I'd like to remind teachers of the critical role they play in motivating students to be the best they can be not only as writers but in all their academic and life pursuits. I close with a brief summary of the established and contemporary theories of teaching and learning that influence my philosophy of teaching, and in turn the teaching writing modules presented here. My discussion of these theories are foundational to the six "deep-teaching" strategies (Rickford 2004, to appear) which I include here. These are strategies which can have significant outcomes for students if applied in earnest. In my opinion, and based on my thirty years of experience as an educator, these strategies are pivotal to the goal of helping students realize their full potential. They are student engagement, student participation, meaningful repetition and reinforcement of concepts, sound pedagogy and conceptual understanding. The first, second and last strategies are student-based while the third, fourth and fifth are teacher-based.
The established theorist is John Dewey, so-called father of American democracy. In his writings on "The Child and the Curriculum" (1902), Dewey declared that learning should be active and engaging. He defended the tenet that a good education should provide "opportunity for the interplay of thinking and doing in the [student's] classroom experience", and that the
teacher should be "a guide and co-worker with the pupils, rather than a taskmaster assigning a fixed set of lessons and recitations" (Encyclopedia Britannica, #5; p. 681). Dewey's general principles are foundational to the pedagogical perspectives presented in these modules and to the first two deep-teaching strategies of student engagement and student participation.
In terms of the modern learning theory, these modules build on Jerome Bruner's ideas outlined in "The Process of Education" (1977), Lee Shulman's landmark work on Knowledge and Teaching (1987), and Lev Vygotsky's seminal sociocultural Theory of Education (1978). Bruner argued that learning is more than just the transfer of skills, but rather "the transfer of principles and attitudes" (p. 17) which is "at the heart of the educational process--the continual broadening and deepening of knowledge in terms of basic and general ideas" (p.18). Another critical Brunerian idea which these modules endorse is that learning should engender a sense of excitement about discovery of "regularities of previously unrecognized relations and similarities between ideas, with a resulting sense of self-confidence in one's abilities" (p.20). In short, learning should be stimulating, and should lead to the understanding and critical connection of seemingly disparate ideas encountered in the learning process.
Annexed with Bruner's work in the modern era is Lee Shulman's theory that teachers should have an adequate knowledge base for teaching. He argued that there exists "a codified or codifiable aggregation of knowledge, skill, (and) understanding [about teaching] ...as well as a means for representing and communicating it," and that this knowledge "should ...directly inform teaching practice" (Shulman, 1987, p.4). Schulman offered an insightful classification of the kinds of knowledge that teachers need to be competent, and included the significance of pedagogical content knowledge in his hierarchy of practitioner tools, which he defines as "that special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own special form of professional understanding" (ibid.). Shulman's paradigm of a vital knowledge base for teachers is also pivotal to the teaching modules presented here.
Finally, Lev Vygotsky's theory of learning and cognitive development--that all learners are influenced by socio-cultural factors embedded in their environment, currently a virtual mantra in the field of education--is fundamental to the point-of-view adopted in this work. So too is the Russian philosopher's belief that students could improve and increase their knowledge if allowed to interact cognitively with each other, thereby advancing each other towards their "zone of proximal development"--that distance between a student's actual development level and his or her potential development level following coaching from and interchange with a more capable learner.
The principles of these three theorists Bruner, Shulman, and Vygotsky are embedded in the collaborative activities and project work recommended for students in these modules, as are the advanced writing skills that teachers are encouraged to impart to them. The other deep-teaching strategies of meaningful repetition and reinforcement, sound pedagogy and conceptual understanding are also built in to the instructional ideas put forth in these modules.
Finally, since the constituency for which these writing modules are provided are academically vulnerable students, teachers should be mindful of the teachings of the celebrated Brazilian educator Paolo Freire who reminds us, that children learn to read the world before they learn to read the word (Freire & Macedo, 1987). I believe further that the culture of attitudes and behaviors that students discern in the halls of school impacts their world; it is thus incumbent upon teachers to make sure that the unspoken messages that their students "read" in the environment of alternative education settings is positive and affirming.
In closing, I would like to remind teachers of the important elements of a good lesson since careful lesson plan would support their efforts to teach the modules. First of all, every lesson should have a perceivable beginning, middle, and end. This sounds obvious, but many lessons lack one of these stages. Secondly, every lesson should reflect the "CORE" principle, that is teachers must always "connect" with students, carefully "organize" the material about to be taught, give students a chance to "reflect "on what has been taught, and also an opportunity for "extension" of newly acquired concepts. Thirdly, teachers should make sure that every lesson includes a listening, speaking , reading and writing component for variety and student exposure to the primary communication skills. Fourthly, each lesson should have six parts--objective, teacher presentation, student activity, written work, an enrichment or extension activity, and then a wrap-up.
Since these modules will require a series of individual lessons, it is important that teachers plan well-structured and carefully organized lessons. Remember always that, in the words of one researcher, "it's the teacher, not the program," (Cole, 2003) that ultimately makes the difference in what students learn and in students' lives.